Steam-trap.



J. F. ROBERTSON.

STEAM TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3,1915- 1,201,628. Patented Oct. 17,1916.

WITNESSES JZW JOHN F. ROBERTSON, OF BELLEVUE, PENNSYLVANIA.

' STEAM-TRAP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

Application filed June 3, 1915. Serial No. 31,848.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. ROBERTSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Bellevue, in the county of Allegheny and E '5 State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Steam-Traps;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to steam-traps.

One of the greatest difliculties attending the use of steam-traps for high-pressure steam-lines is due to the fact that the valve does not always seat itself tightly to cut ofi steam, due to some obstruction in the form of scale, rust or sediment, which may adhere to the valve-seat or valve, thereby causing loss of steam. By my invention, I pro pose to rotate the valve during the seating operation so that the valve-seat is automatically cleaned and burnished, and a tight fit 39 the shell or casing having the steam-inlet 3 lie by means of which the trap is connected up to the main steam-line. The passage 4 is formed in the walls of the casing and extends down to the lower end thereof where it enters the interior of the casing by the tangential port 5. This passage has an area greater than the area of inlet 3. A blow-off opening in the lower end of the casing is -provided with the plug 6. A cover 7 is secured to the casing 2 by means of the bolts 8 and said cover is provided with the threaded opening 9 to receive the cylindrical member 10, which extends down into the casing and is. provided with the guides 11. The dome 12 is secured to the cover 7 by the bolts 13. A valve-seat 14 is secured within the dome by means of the collar 15, which engages said valve-seat. The valve-seat is provided with the opening 16.

Within the casing 2 is the bucket 17, said bucket having at the upper end thereof the pockets 18, which register with the tangential openings 19 formed in the upper end of the casing, and by means of which steam is admitted to the pockets 18 to rotate the bucket 17. A spindle or stem 20 is secured to the lower end of the bucket, said spindle extending'through the bucket and being cen;

tered on the bottom of the casing. The stem 20 passes up through the guides 11 of the cylindrical member 10, and secured to the upper end of the stem in any suitable manner, is the valve 21 in line with the opening 16 of the valve-seat 14, A supplemental steam-inlet 22 is provided in the upper end of the casing2 communicating with the inlet 3, said inlet being closed by the plug 23. The purpose of said steam inlet will be fully hereinafter set forth.

' In the operation of my improved steamtrap, the steam is admitted by the inlet 3 and the water of condensation passes down through the passage 4 and enters the casing by the port 5 on a tangent. The water then passes up into the bucket through the openings' .17 and down into the bucket 17 and thence up through the cylindrical member 10. Ordinarily, the bucket 17 will be in a raised position with the valve 21 closing the opening 16 to prevent the escape of the steam, due to the fact that the bucket floats onthe water in the casing. When, however, through condensation, the water collects in the casing and overflows in the bucket 17, the weight of the water in the bucket 1.7

I will-lower said bucket, and the valve 21 leaves its seat, so that water is ejected by the pressure of the steam through the opening 16 and out through the outlet 24. When the water has been discharged (as shown in Fig. 1), the bucket will rise, and in rising said bucket will be rotated due to the admission of steam through the tangential ports 19 coming in contact with the pockets 18. Consequently, as the bucket rises, it is rotated, the valve 21 having a rotary motion imparted to it while it is seating itself, and said rotary motion acts to automatically clean the valve and so insure a tight fit with the valve-seat.

As the passage 4 is of greater area than the inlet 3, the steam and water of condensation entering said inlet, where the bucket is discharged, will force thewater down through the passage 4, and, at the same time, permit a suflicient pressure of steam to pass through the tangential inlets 19 to rotate the bucket. If the area of the passage 4 were not greater than the cross-sectional area of the inlet 3, the steam on entering the port 3 would act to blow out the water in the bucket through the passage 10, but said passage being of greater area, the entering steam has a greater surface of water to act on, and as the opening 5 is also smaller in area than the passage 4, there will be a back pressure exerted which causes steam to'pass through the openings 19 to rotate the bucket. Furthermore, the water of condensation entering through port 5 on a tangent at the bottom of the casing 2 causes the mud or sediment to assume a fiocculent condition and, consequently, it is readily blown out through the outlet 24.

As it will always be necessary to keep a certain amount of water in the trap to fioat the bucket,.I provide the inlet 22 for the admission of steam when the trap is first put in operation so that steam is admitted in suflicient quantity at the upper end of the trap to counteract the effect of the steam entering the lower end of the trap by the port 5. Unless at the start, steam in sufiicient quantities is admitted at the upper end of the trap, the action of the steam entering the port 5 would be to blow out or siphon the water in the trap and s0 defeat the purpose of the trap. By admitting steam in sufficient quantity by the port 22, the steam entering the port 5 with the water of com densation is equalized preventing the blowing out of the water which floats the'bucket.

What I claim is: 1. In a steam-trap, the combination of a casing having a steam-inlet for admitting steam, a valve-seat in said casing, a bucket within sa1d casing, a valve carried by sa1d bucket, said casing having tangential openings for directing the steam against said bucket to rotate same, and said casing having an opening at the lower end communicating with said steam inlet and a supplemental steam-inlet at the upper end thereof.

2. In a steam-trap, the combination of a casing having a steam inlet and a passage for the water of condensation communicating with said casing by a port at the lower end of said casing, said passage being of greater area than said inlet and also than said port, a bucket in said casing, means for directing steam entering said steam-inlet against said bucket at the upper end thereof to rotate same, a valve seat in said casing, and a. Valve carried by said bucket.

23. In a steam-trap, the combination of a casing having a steam-inlet at the upper end, and a passage for the water of condensation communicating with said inlet and extending to the lower end of said casing, said passage being of greater area than said steam-inlet, and a port at the lower end of said casing of less area than said passage, tangential steam-inlets formed in said casing at the upper end thereof, a rotary bucket in said casing, a valve seat in said casing, a valve carried by said bucket, and means for rotating said bucket by steam admitted by said tangential inlets.

In testimony whereof I, the said JOHN F. ROBERTSON, have hereunto set' my hand.

JOHN F. ROBERTSON.

Witnesses:

RoB'r. D. TOTTEN, JOHN F. WILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents Washington, D. (3. 

